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LIFESTYLE 2006
RHAPSODY
If you still do not know where the Holešovice area of Prague is, Rhapsody Piano Bar is one great reason to find out.
Located on Dukelských hrdinů, opposite the Park Hotel, this inconspicuous bar is a real gem on the inside.
Dimly lit classy décor is well complimented by a number of mirrors reflecting the candles and the soft cushioned
seats draped in red velvet that ooze comfort. The walls are decorated by a number of paintings by various artists,
all of them acquired by the owner Alain Chlala, who opened the bar in 1993, and photographs featuring some of the most prominent guests.
Rhapsody boasts one of the most extensive (if not the most extensive) wine lists in Prague. Italy, France, Spain are all heavily represented
whilst for the more adventurous wine drinker a selection of Lebanese wines is offered.
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Besides the extensive wine selection, the well stocked bar offers almost any cocktail. All around the bar,
small glass covered niches have been created to display the bottles of different alcohols brought from all over the world.
Despite all of this abundance, the most popular cocktails are still the same old Mojito and Gin Tonic as well as the bar's own speciality-
Capiroshka, a somewhat unusual take on the Brazilian Capirinha.
The cuisine at Rhapsody is mostly French. The menu boasts such appetizers as Foie Gras, Escargots as well as Tartar of tuna or salmon,
while the main courses include Grilled Tiger Prawns and the absolute must for any classy restaurants - Fillet Mignon.
Also, as a nod to the owners' heritage a lerge selection of Lebanese specialities are served until 2 a.m.
The selection of music at Rhapsody is virtually endless, from almost opera like tribute to the great Italian Carusso, performed personally by one of the owners to the
madness of the gypsy guitars or the somberness of the Russian balalaika.
This is not surprising since the place caters to a wide international audience, including prominent businessmen,
diplomats and celebrities, who no doubt will keep coming back to this unique place to enjoy the music and the exquisite wines.
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PRAGUE POST 1995 |
LOOK WHO'S WAITING FOR A DINNER
I saw democracy in action March 28 at the Rhapsody piano bar in Holesovice. The people at the table behind me
were still finishing up, so the couple it had been promise to next were asked to wait at the bar.
They were Prime Ministr Vaclav Klaus and his wife, Livia. The waited 20 minutes. When they were seated,
they complimented the owners on doing such goo business on a Tuesday night. And I rejoiced at living in
a land where a restaurateur has the chutzpah to make the head of a government wait for a table
and where the prime minister won't jump the queue.
A.L. |
PRAGUE TRIBUNEmay 1995
Six good places to dine
Diners in Prague can pay a pittance or a fortune, get service that is suave or sullen, be served dishes from the
sublime to the inedible. Here are six favorite restaurants of The Prague Tribune staff, Czech-owned and foreign owned,
from expensive to moderate price.
The brothers Schlala
-a place to spend a social evening
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There once were four Lebanese brothers: two supersalesmen, a musiciancomposer,and one who came to Prague on a business trip
and stayed to fill a human need.ALain Schlala swooped down on Prague in 1989 as an advance man fo a number of French luxury
products.
He liked what he found, but one thing he couldn't find, he says, was a good place to spend a social evening.
So he opened The Prague Rhapsody.This Piano-bar restaurant wins customer raves for its Lebanese and continental cuisine-including truly fresh escargot
redolent in garlic butter and spinach. But the bar is the big revenue producer,featuring the usual suspects, and a specialty ,
capiroska, a lethal Russian concoction of vodka, lime, and sugar.
Walk into Rhapsody any evening and you'll feel the glow generated by a mahogany bar and tables, colorful table settings
closely spaced, and a Babel of French, English and other languages mingling with the lyrical piano of Yves Schlala.
But then look around for the most significant fixture of the place. It is Alain Schlala himself, perched on a bar stool
or stalking among the patrons, a 49-year old rotund, hairy teddy bear with a fast handshake and a ready chuckle.
He'll be listening intently with warm eyes to one patron, or roaring with laughter beside another.
Just spending a social evening.
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PRAGUE TRIBUNE june 1997
A day in the life...
Alain and Yves Schlala
Diplomats, businessmen, politicians, show bussiness celebrities - they
all come here. All risk boticky to spend an evening there and breathalysers to get home. And they all look up
to the same gurus. Yet this is neither sect or club, but Rhapsody, the dimly lit restaurant-piano-bar in Prague 7, a veritable
star in the city's night life. The Lebanese owner - brothers Alain and Yves Schlala reign uncontested here, privvy to
the whispers of their guest's nocturnal confessions.
"Even if I happen to be dining with Arab princes, people always think I'm the billionaire,"
admits Alain Schlala. And for good reason. Schlala could easily be a pasha lifted from the pages of a modern day Arabian Nights
or the sultan of some exotic kingdom. After just a few minutes in his company, it becomes clear that Alain Schlala knows people
from all walks of life - the world almost. And that, in return, it treats him very well.
The lives of the Schlala brothers reads like a novel: an idyllically carefree childhood followed by scenes of violence
and sadness as the Lebanese conflict unfurled. Their story begins in the fifties against the rich backdrop of Alexandria.
"We would all go camping back to the Egyptian-Lebanese border for a month every aear to hunt and fish among the Bedouins,"
remembers Alain. "Every year a pasha came and chased gazelles in a Rolls Royce."It was also the era of prestigious
English clubs like the Yacht and Sporting Clubs where high society ladies would sip tea with their little
finger cocked watching their husbands playing tennis or arguing over the horses.But 1960 put a stop to al that. Nasser's
government nationalized all businesses and sequestered all private property. Suddenly the Schlala family found itself
stripped of all its possessions and fleeing for Beirut. Alain and Yves attended the same school that had
welcomed various Lebanese presidents and Yves formed his first band there - The Spiders, influenced heavily by The Beatles
and Elvis Presley.
Further study the took precedence. Yves went to architecture schol in Beirut, Alain left for Belgium, where he studied industrial chemistry.
Yves went into the world of advertising and photography and created a storm with his pioneering nude shots which he sold at inflated prices -
"If you're expensive, you must be good, " he was known to retort. After a spell with underwear he went onto filming advertisements and
business videos.
Alain, meanwhile espoused the martial arts, and returned to Beirut as a professional karate teacher.
Thereafter he opened his own club, the Budkaidojo, which boasted sauna, swimming pool, Turkish baths, body building gym and diving school...
among other things. The higher echelons of Lebanese society dropped in, from governemnt ministers to the governor of the central bank as well as
commandos from the Lebanese army.With so many connections, Alain Schlala soon took up the political struggle.
In April 1975 war broke out in Lebanon.
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Alain saw his club destroyed by shelling and he joined the Christian faction and for the next five years was embroiled in the military.
Yet in 1980, threats caught up with him and his house was blown up.He left for Cyprus and then for France.
Yves also found his way to France in 1976, and decided to commit
himself wholly to music. He played in nightclubs and bars and also in the larger hotels, in particular Le Royal Monceau where he worked
for four years bumping into some of the biggest names in popular music. "The day I saw Stevie Wonder coming into the hotel for the first time,"
remembers Yves, "his wife asked him where he would like to sit. He replied, "as close as I can to the piano."
I played for an hour with him next to me and I was trembling like a leaf. When I stopped ho took my hand and said to me,
'I've had goose pimples for an hour'. "
For his part, Alain went back to the world of business and set up a company distributing hospital equipment. This
took off in the late eighties but was adversely affected by the economic crisis accompanying the Gulf War. In 1991 a friend
suggested that Alain comover to Prague to set up the business untill falling out with his partners. Then, an idea. A contact. A location.
Rhapsody came to him as if the Gods were once again smiling on him. His brother soon joined him in Prague.
And the moral of the story? "Intuition," answers Alain. "During those blackre moments when I feel as if I'm trapped in a tunnel, "
he confides, "my friends tell me, 'Look, there's a light at the end'. I tell them, 'Yes, it's a train coming in the other direction'."
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VECERNIK PRAHA april 1996
Unie, kremrole a dnes opět letadlo
Britský premiér odešel z baru před půlnocí, Václav Klaus s manželkou se zdrželi déle
Jako příjemný večer zhodnotil dnes v noci pro VP majitel baru Rhapsody
návštěvu britského a českého premiéra s manželkou (na snímku nahoře) v jeho podniku.
Bar vybral premiér Václav Klaus, který je jeho občasným návštěvníkem. Společnosti zazpívala Eva Pilarová
(na snímku vlevo). Večeru předcházela obligátní "procházka na mostě" (na snímku dole)
Dnes ráno se na starém letišti uskutečnila poslední Majorova tisková konference v Praze před jeho odletem
do Kyjeva.
"Královně Alžbětě II. se u vás velmi líbilo", řekl dnes ráno na letišti stará Ruzyně premiér John Major.
Poté vyjádřil víru, že Evropská unie brzy rozšíří své řady, zamával a odletěl do Kyjeva.
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Bez povšimnutí se ovšem odehrálo malé drama během podvečerní procházky premiérů Majora a Klause po Karlově mostě.
Slunce právě zapadalo, když John Major vstoupil na most bok po boku se svým pražským průvodcem-premiérem Václavem Klausem.
V tu dobu si však u sochy Krista, kde byla první plánovaná zastávka, ochranka všimla tašky pohozené na podstavci sochy.
Zjevně nikomu nepatřila a nebyla prázdná. Oba premiéři se blížili.
Strážci si poradili po chvíli váhání: vzali tašku a jednoduše ji hodili do
Vltavy. Následek byl jediný- pod mostem sebou polekaně trhl rybář. A zatímco u jezu vyplašeně kroužil policejní člun,
k soše již přicházeli oba premiéři.
V družném hovoru přešli most, poté se zastavili u sochy sv. Františka, sestoupili po schodech na Kampu a odjeli
ukončit formální část Majorovy návštěvy večeří v Hrzánském paláci. Procházka trvala necelou půlhodinu.
Ještě chvíli po odjezdu britského premiéra skandovala rozjařeně Majorovo jméno John skupina turistů.
Jazz v podání zpěvačky Evy Pilarové si John Major přišel poslechnout v deset hodin večer do piano-baru Rhapsody.
U jednoho stolu s ním seděl premiér Václav Klaus s manželkou, britský velvyslanec v České republice s manželkou a Majorův asistent.
"Byl to příjemný večer", řekl VP majitel baru Alain Chlala. "Major si dal kremroli (mělo být créme brulée-pzn. restaurace)
a odešel krátce před půlnocí". Premiér Klaus s manželkou se zdrželi o něco déle.
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PRAGUE POST
No blues in this Rhapsody
Rhapsody (noun)
1. Enthusiastic or high-flown composition or utterance.
2. Every seat in the house is a quiet nook conductive to smoky glances. The muted blues and reds of the decor are
delicately broken up by dim lamplight, giving the room a sophisticated yet relaxed feel.
After paing us the flattery of assuming we speak French, our waiter brings our aperitifs and then dissloves into the darkness.
3. Our menus arrive shortly after our Becherovka. The selection is composed of the sort of items that make
Continental dining the legend that it is: Escargots. Foie gras. St.Pierre en papillote. Heartwarming, Baroque dishes of beef tenderloin and pork fillet
(but not vegetarian dishes listed). Desserts whose very names evoke a delicate filigree of anticipated flavors.
After deciding on a couple of rich, meaty main courses we turn our attention to the wine list.
We selected a bottle of 1996 Undurraga Cabernet Sauvignon (450kc), a Chilean wine, over the numerous prestigiously named
(and, I might add, prestigiously priced) French wines offered.Single glasses of the hse wine are available for 100kc.
If you have passing familiarity with French wines, you will see some friends here, as the best wine-growing regions are represented.
But I've had the Undurraga before, sitting down with it is like sitting down with an old school friend. I know
its charms and weaknesses, but I always enjoy its company.
4. The appetizers arrive after we finish our aperitifs, neither too soon not too late. The salade estivale au saumon au herbes, or
summer salad (280kc) is, like all of tonight's dishes, elegantly presented. It consists of tender, fresh leaves of lettuce
interspersed with soft sprouts of white asparagus and endive, topped with buttery shavings of salmon, drizzled
with a bacon vinaigrette and sprinkled with walnuts.
The escargots de Bourgogne (280kc) are offered as a single order of 12, but our waiter kindly serves them in two half-portions
-delightful morsels with a slightly earthy flavor reminiscent of their native Burgundy soil.
Best to wait a while to let the these little fellows cool off, as they are baked in a bath of butter and herbs. The juices left behind plead to be sopped up with the
accompanying fresh French rolls. I could sit here all night feeding on these snails and listening to the rollicking Gallic melodies of
the house band.
5. The filet de boeuf grillé nature ou Bearnaise 430kc is a generous cut of griled beef tenderloin livngly rubbed with pepper and garlic.
The flavor of the meat does an intricate dance with the velvety Bearnaise-a tarantella, I believe.
The beef is accompanied by the ne plus ultra of pommes frites (I can't bring myself to call them french fries)- perfectly
cooked to create a crisp, papery finish that preserves the powdery interior. There is also a stewed spinach side dish that has plainly
been sleeping with the same garlic that put such a smile on the face of the escargots.
The mixed shish kebab (450kc) is a triumvirate of chicken, lamb and beef. The meats are heavily seasoned and perhaps a little over-grilled, but they come alive
when dipped in the accompanying garilic cream sauce.
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This dish is also served with the above-mentioned pommes frites
and a wonderful vegetable cassserole which, while humble in appearance, , retains the distinct textures and flavors
of its baby peas, cauliflower, green beans, carrots and moshrooms.
Thefilet mignons caramelisé au miele et echalottes (380kc) is the best revenge, a beatiful arrangment of thick
porc tenderloin medallions in a glaze of caramelized onions. The result is a welcome, juicy mouthful of contrasting flavors not entirely
unlike the first bite of the season's first caramel-coated apple. In addition to the vegetable casserole, the pork is served with
a generous portion of warm, savory potato salad with mushrooms.
6. For dessert, my companion has créme brullée (150kc). It tastes like what you might expect to find in heaven, unless of course
you don't believe in that sort of thing, in which case you should hope to go to creme brulée when you die.
This dessert is a standard in many of Prague's finer restaurants, but Rhapsody's is the hands-down best we've had.
The profiteroles au chocolat chaud (180kc) are tiny balls of rich vanilla ice cream gilded with thin, crusty pastry shells and showered
with sharp, dark chocolate. The combination of textures is exquisite.
7. A return visit, which I will be sure to make.
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Spanish journal , 1996 |
Praga
Rapsodia de invierno
Interrumpida por la historia la vieja tradicion de los cafes musicales y "cabaretes"
centroeuropeos, los hermanos libaneses Shlala, reoen llegados de Paris, descubrieron que Praga no tenia un solo
lugar nocturno donde se pudiera cenar después de las diez de la noche y escuchar algo de buena musica. Y se lo dieron.
El "Rhapsody" de Praga ha sido, durante la dificil transicion, calido refugio de extranjeros afincados en los
rigores de la post-guerra fria. Se trataba de extranjeros de distinto pelaje, unidos por la condicion de
no alojarse en el hotel Intercontinental ni estar de negacios.
Jovenes huidos de la movilizacion en la antigua Jugoslavia unian sus nacionalidades a la mesa. Pintores rusos
sin lienzo y pintores americanos sin ideas, imaginaban intercambio. Y escribientes, artistas y musas eslavas, una princesa
georgiana reportera de tv, en fin, diplomaticos, periodistas y gente aun peor, dieron a este lugar un halo de elegante
malditismo.
Este duro, mes arriba mes abajo, lo que tardo en circular su fama por todo el Cuerpo Diplomatico y los empresarios que trafican
en esta ciudad. Pero la buena aunque sencilla cocina francesa, que dirige el hermano mayor, es un lujo con el
fondo de segundo cantando "Ne me quitte pas" y "Noches de Moscu" al piano. Dos buenos guitarristas serbio, Boro y Filip,
cayeron una nache y se quedaron para acompanar.
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GURMAN |
GURMAN
Selection of Prague's restaurants
20 THE BEST RESTAURANT
ACCORDING ATMOSPHERE
1. RHAPSODY
2. Svatá Klára
3. U Modré Kachničky
4. The James Joice
5. U Zavěšenýho kafe
6.-7. Hanavský pavilon
6.-7. U Zlatého tygra
8. Inter-Conti, Zlatá Praha
9. Molly Malones
10. Miyabi
11.Kampa Park
12.-15. La Provence
12.-15. Flambée
12.-15. Obecní dům Franc.rest.
12.-15. Pravda
16. Bellevue
17.-18. VIlla Voyta
19-20.U Zlaté hrušky
19.-20. U Maltézských rytířů
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PRAGUE THIS MONTH august 2000
Prague Post
"Dreaming of romantic hideaways, I went to Rhapsody knowing little about it but guessing it
would be hard for a piano-bar to be unromantic and found that my dreams came true.
The atmospehre is warm enchanted by candles and comfortable booths around the periphery of the room: the center is
set up for the musicians... the waitres are very pleasant, and among them I don't think there is a language not spoken..."
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Herald Tribune
"Rhapsody comes to life around 21h30 when Yves sit down at the Yamaha, caresses its keys
and croons Beatles and Elvis hits, Simon and Garfunkel, Neil Diamond, Sinatra. Later he switches to French...
...two in the morning is Rhapsody's posted closing time, but the Schlala brothers keep it humming until the last
customer leaves..."
Prague Tribune
"...walk into Rhapsody any evening and you'll feel the glow generated by a mohagony bar and tables,
colorful table settings closely spaced, and a babel of french, english and other languages mingling with the lyrical
piano of Yves Chlala, but then look around for the most significant fixture of the place. It is Alain Chlala himself,
perched on a bar stool or stalking among the patrons, a 54 year old rotund, hairy teddy bear with a fast handshake
and a ready chuckle. He'll be listenint intently with warm eyes to one patron or roaring with laughter beside another.
Just spending a social evening..."
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